Are you a part of a neighbourhood?

Having lived in India for the past few years, I have noticed a glaring difference in the socialisation of people who live in my neighbourhood here and abroad. People in India feel free to start a conversation with you if you live next-door or within the same colony. The want to get to know the people living around oneself is prevalent.

Asking for favors, giving opinions and advice or just small talk. Conversation exists in all forms here in India. It is sometimes pleasant and at other times intrusive. That would depend on the neighbor, I guess.

Such was not the case when I lived in UAE. No one there even knows who the neighbors are. Many a times, even if we saw who lived next-door, there was no attempt to talk or say a polite ‘Hello’. Everyone was just busy minding their own business. It is a colder and more detached way of living.

Everyone is entitled to live the way they are comfortable, obviously. But I wanted to point out the difference in behavior of the people when living in their own country and when living abroad. There seems to be a comfort that our country and its people bring. One of the best things is being able to see and join in the celebrations of various cultures, to understand why people celebrate what they do.   Either way, there are pros and cons having friendly neighbors.

It is always nice to be greeted with a smile no matter what kind of neighborly interactions one might prefer. After all, we never know when we might end up making a friend. We can even discuss and fix problems that concern us all just by communication with people around us. Isolation doesn’t do us much good.

Being a part of a neighbourhood is somehow more productive.